Named File Formats

InnoDB 1.1 has the idea of a named file format and a configuration
parameter to enable the use of features that require use of that
format. The new file format is the “Barracuda” format, and the
original InnoDB file format is called “Antelope”. Compressed
tables and the new row format that stores long columns
“off-page” require the use of the “Barracuda” file
format or newer. Future versions of InnoDB may introduce a series of
file formats, identified
with the names of animals, in ascending alphabetic order.